(Los Angeles, CA) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was the fifth-busiest airport in the world and the United States in 2021, according to preliminary figures released today by Airports Council International (ACI) World.

 

A total of 48,007,284 passengers used LAX in 2021, an increase of 67% compared with 2020. The increase in passenger traffic last year moved LAX up 10 spots among the busiest airports in the world, from No. 15 during the height of the pandemic in 2020, to No. 5 last year. A record 88.1 million passengers used LAX in 2019, when the airport was No. 3 in the world and No. 2 in the United States by total passenger traffic.

 

"LAX continues to welcome more and more people back through its doors, and we expect to continue this rise in passenger numbers as international and business travel increase this year," said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). "Our team has been working hard to prepare LAX for this travel resurgence and is greeting passengers with new terminals, safer and healthier facilities, advanced amenities such as smart parking and touchless ID checks, and additional air service to more parts of the U.S. and the world."

 

LAX also maintained its spot in the Top 10 airports in the world for air cargo in 2021, according to ACI. Matching 2020, LAX was No. 8 in the world with a total of 2,691,830 metric tons of cargo, an increase of 20.7 percent over 2020. LAX was 13th in the world in cargo in 2019.

 

For 2021, LAX recorded a total of 506,769 aircraft movements (takeoffs and landings), making it No. 6 in the world for total operations, an increase of 33.6% from 2020.

 

Click here to view the complete ACI news release.

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX, the fifth-busiest airport in the world in 2021 with 48 million passengers, is in the midst of a $15-billion capital improvement program that will touch on all nine passenger terminals and build new facilities, including an Automated People Mover (APM) train, Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility and the West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal.

In 2019, LAX served nearly 88.1 million passengers and offered an average of 700 daily nonstop flights to 113 destinations in the U.S. and 1,200 weekly nonstop flights to 91 markets in 46 countries on 72 commercial airlines.

LAX generates 620,600 jobs in Southern California, with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion, according to an economic study based on 2014 operations. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX's ongoing capital improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion; $966 million in state and local taxes; and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City's general fund.

LAWA is leading the aviation industry in sustainability practices, with initiatives related to water management, energy (electricity) management, air quality, recycling and natural resources management. In 2019, LAX received Level III ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation from Airports Council International-Europe.

LAWA is also a leader in inclusivity, operating eight programs that provide opportunities for business enterprises including local, small, minority-owned, veteran-owned and disadvantaged firms, and working together with community partners to offer the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program, which targets local workers to make them ready for rewarding careers in the construction trades, and the Build LAX Academy, designed to prepare small contracting businesses for success when working on projects at LAX.

LAX was named a top-10 U.S. airport by SKYTRAX in 2018, and was honored as the "Most Innovative Airport for Passenger Experience" in 2019 by the American Association of Airport Executives. LAX is the second-most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram, according to wego.com. Other recent honors have included selection as the No. 9 Best Airport (Wall Street Journal); No. 7 Best On-Time Performance for a Mega-Hub Airport (OAG); one of "The World's Best Airports for Business Travelers" (GlobeHunters); Public-Private Partnership of the Year (P3 Bulletin); Urth Caffe, Best Airport Coffee Concession of the Year (Global FAB Awards); Innovation of the Year, Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ARTBA); Best Project, United Airlines Terminal 7 and 8 Redevelopment Program (Engineering News Record California); North American Public-Private Partnership Deal of the Year (IJ Global); and Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year, Automated People Mover (WTS LA).

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.

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